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Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach writes Hillary Clinton to defend pipeline project
News Articles | Vancouver Sun | Archie McLean | July 08, 2010
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EDMONTON — Days after an influential U.S. congressman wrote a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton opposing a proposed oilsands pipeline, Premier Ed Stelmach has penned his own letter to her in support of the project.
“It is important . . . that the process rely on factual information and be in keeping with the free-trade principles that have served our energy relationship over the past quarter century,” Stelmach’s letter says.
TransCanada Corp. wants to build a pipeline from Hardisty, in eastern Alberta, to the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Known as the Keystone XL line, it could eventually transport more than 900,000 barrels of oil a day to Texas refineries.
The plan is under review by the U.S. State Department and has faced strong opposition from environmentalists and some U.S. politicians.
Henry Waxman, the influential chair of the energy and commerce committee, wrote to Clinton that the plan is “a step in the wrong direction.”
Waxman, a California Democrat, said building the pipeline will make the U.S. more dependent on oilsands fuel, which has been criticized for using more natural resources in its extraction process and for producing more greenhouse gases than conventional sources.
The previous week, another 49 Democrats also wrote Clinton to oppose the plan.
Environmentalists and scientists have also argued the pipeline could threaten endangered species and undermine U.S. attempts to lower the country’s greenhouse-gas emissions.
Several U.S. unions, including the International Union of Teamsters, have written in support of the project.
The Stelmach government has also argued strongly in favour of the pipeline.
This month, the government paid $55,800 for an advertisement in the Washington Post.
Stelmach’s letter to Clinton says that Alberta oil offers a stable and reliable source of energy, especially compared with the 50 per cent of U.S. oil imports that come from the Middle East.
The premier also outlined the environmental progress being made in the oilsands, including the reductions in greenhouse gas.
“Oilsands are, and will continue to be, produced in an environmentally responsible manner and deliver clear and growing economic and security benefits to the U.S.”
Cam Hantiuk, a spokesman for the premier, said the letter is part of a government effort to secure markets for the province’s bitumen.
Hantiuk said there’s nothing factually wrong with Waxman’s letter, but it leaves out favourable comparisons between Alberta bitumen and other sources of fuel.
Hantiuk said Waxman has refused to meet with Alberta officials to discuss the Keystone project.
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Alberta+Premier+Stelmach+writes+Hillary+Clinton+defend+pipeline+project/3251744/story.html#ixzz0tCKwWG2n
Tagged with: keystone xl, pipeline, secretary of state, ed stalmach, waxman
